Last Robbery Suspect Sentenced From Summer Incident

SNOW HILL — The fourth and final suspect indicted by a Worcester County grand jury in the armed hold-up of a Route 50 convenience store and subsequent high speed chase and crash in Ocean City in August pleaded guilty this week to armed robbery and was sentenced to 10 years in jail, all but three years of which were then suspended.

On Wednesday, Sarah Gryskevicz, 19, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa. pleaded guilty to armed robbery for her role in the Aug. 3 hold-up at Raceway Citgo on the corner of Routes 50 and 589 and was sentenced to 10 years in jail. All but three years of the sentence were then suspended and Gryskevicz was placed on probation for five years pending her release from prison.

Gryskevicz’s plea comes after three of her co-conspirators in the crime pleaded guilty to armed robbery last month. Payne Stewart Prasnikar, 21, of Stillwater, Pa., pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced to 20 years in jail with all but 10 suspended. Charles Richard Conden III, 19, of Edwardsville, Pa. also pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced to 20 years in jail with 10 suspended, while Antonio Suarez, 18, of Allentown, Pa., pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced to 15 years with all but four suspended.

Around 5 p.m. on Aug. 3, Ocean City Police were monitoring the Maryland State Police radio frequency when a call went out for a reported armed robbery at the Raceway Citgo store. The suspects fled the scene in a blue Chevrolet with Pennsylvania tags and headed east on Route 50 toward Ocean City.

A vehicle description was broadcast to all officers in the area and the vehicle was soon located heading north on Coastal Highway in the area of 77th Street. OCPD officers attempted to stop the vehicle at 80th Street to no avail. During the subsequent pursuit, the vehicle reached speeds in excess of 80 mph on a crowded Coastal Highway in prime time in August.

Conden got out of the vehicle at around 100th Street and fled on foot. Meanwhile, the blue Chevrolet continued north on Coastal Highway at a high rate of speed before crashing into another vehicle while attempting to turn right. The four suspects involved in the pursuit fled on foot, but were apprehended moments later by OCPD officers and bystanders. No injuries were reported at the armed robbery at the Citgo store, but one of the suspects reportedly fired a shot after leaving the store with an undisclosed amount of money.

While Gryskevicz, Suarez and Prasnikar were apprehended shortly after the crash on Coastal Highway, Conden was not caught immediately and his description was broadcast calling him likely armed and dangerous. Around 8:30 a.m. the following Tuesday, Pennsylvania State Police apprehended Conden in the area of Kingston, Pa. after the two-day crime spree that began in Pennsylvania and ended in the Ocean City area, including the armed robbery at the Raceway Citgo.

Prior to the armed robbery on Route 50, around 2 a.m. on Friday, Conden and another suspect shot out the door of a multi-million dollar estate owned by a prominent businessman in Lehman Township in Pennsylvania in an armed home invasion. According to a Pennsylvania State Police press release, Conden and the other suspect entered the residence, but fled after about five minutes when the estate’s burglar alarm triggered. A 90-year-old woman at home at the time barricaded herself in a closet, but no injuries were reported.

After that early morning incident on Friday, Conden and the other suspects headed to the Ocean City area and carried out the armed robbery at the Route 50 convenience store. During the initial investigation, it was learned the vehicle was stolen during a robbery in Pennsylvania prior to the armed home invasion and the armed robbery in the Ocean City area.

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